DegaBird
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2026
- Messages
- 24
- Reaction score
- 10
- Location
- East Hampton
- What state or country do you live in
- Connecticut
I'm about 5 months in on my IM 25 and things are going relatively well. I'm currently starting a cyano battle and before I turn to chemical warfare, I was curious what opinions are on a skimmer for this tank and if it would help with the cyano.
I do have the old Ghost skimmer, and I tried to run it but it is SO loud I was going to go insane. I did see someone else in this forum run theirs only at night (for different reasons) and was curious if that's worth a shot before spending money on something else.
The tank is at work in my office so there is no way to escape the noise of the Ghost. It's not a hum that fades into the background, it's a constant, brain scrambling drone. It's too bad because it absolutely works great otherwise. It's not a pump noise, either.
Is a skimmer even necessary for this tank? Does anyone have any tips/tricks on quieting the Ghost skimmer I currently have?
Maintenance is weekly water changes with IO salt. I do run a reactor with a few spoonfuls of phosguard and carbon.
Gear: Hydra 26 upgraded with Luxdium Cyan puck, Hygger 1500 powerhead and I'm about to add an MP10 as well. No heater currently as it exploded (but the office is warm enough to keep the tank around 77-78 degrees while I wait for a new one to arrive from IM). Aqua Gadget nano reactor with phosguard/carbon. And an ATO.
Water is made with an RO but NOT DI. As this is at my job I have to work with what I have, and there are no nearby LFS to purchase from, and bringing water from home is just not feasible. I've been debating tossing in a bag of DI resin into the ATO bucket with a powerhead.
Current parameters:
pH: 8, Ammonia/Nitrite: 0, Nitrate: 0, Phosphate: .08, Salinity: 1.024,Mg:1485, Ca: 490, kH: 14.8* (I had just dosed reef code B as the alk had been sliding into the 6's. I dose some baking soda in the ato bucket as well). pH/Ammonia/Nitrite are tested with API. Phosphate is Hannah. Everything else is tested with Salifert.
Livestock:
Mocha clown, yellow clown goby, yellow watchman goby with pistol shrimp, tailspot blenny. Corals are a mix of easy sps (Montis/poci/stylo) and LPS (Chalice/favia/torch/duncan) and softies (zoas/mushrooms). Ironically, I cannot keep an acan alive in this tank. I also have 3 rock anemones and a bubble tip.
I know my nitrate shouldn't be zero, and I have no idea how to get it up. I do feed pretty heavily for the bioload. I mix it up between flake/frozen/reef roids. I purchased a bag of ammonium bicarbonate for the nitrates but I'm not 100% certain HOW to dose it!
Thanks in advance for any insight you all might have to offer!
I do have the old Ghost skimmer, and I tried to run it but it is SO loud I was going to go insane. I did see someone else in this forum run theirs only at night (for different reasons) and was curious if that's worth a shot before spending money on something else.
The tank is at work in my office so there is no way to escape the noise of the Ghost. It's not a hum that fades into the background, it's a constant, brain scrambling drone. It's too bad because it absolutely works great otherwise. It's not a pump noise, either.
Is a skimmer even necessary for this tank? Does anyone have any tips/tricks on quieting the Ghost skimmer I currently have?
Maintenance is weekly water changes with IO salt. I do run a reactor with a few spoonfuls of phosguard and carbon.
Gear: Hydra 26 upgraded with Luxdium Cyan puck, Hygger 1500 powerhead and I'm about to add an MP10 as well. No heater currently as it exploded (but the office is warm enough to keep the tank around 77-78 degrees while I wait for a new one to arrive from IM). Aqua Gadget nano reactor with phosguard/carbon. And an ATO.
Water is made with an RO but NOT DI. As this is at my job I have to work with what I have, and there are no nearby LFS to purchase from, and bringing water from home is just not feasible. I've been debating tossing in a bag of DI resin into the ATO bucket with a powerhead.
Current parameters:
pH: 8, Ammonia/Nitrite: 0, Nitrate: 0, Phosphate: .08, Salinity: 1.024,Mg:1485, Ca: 490, kH: 14.8* (I had just dosed reef code B as the alk had been sliding into the 6's. I dose some baking soda in the ato bucket as well). pH/Ammonia/Nitrite are tested with API. Phosphate is Hannah. Everything else is tested with Salifert.
Livestock:
Mocha clown, yellow clown goby, yellow watchman goby with pistol shrimp, tailspot blenny. Corals are a mix of easy sps (Montis/poci/stylo) and LPS (Chalice/favia/torch/duncan) and softies (zoas/mushrooms). Ironically, I cannot keep an acan alive in this tank. I also have 3 rock anemones and a bubble tip.
I know my nitrate shouldn't be zero, and I have no idea how to get it up. I do feed pretty heavily for the bioload. I mix it up between flake/frozen/reef roids. I purchased a bag of ammonium bicarbonate for the nitrates but I'm not 100% certain HOW to dose it!
Thanks in advance for any insight you all might have to offer!
